All Entries Tagged With: "Ministry of Information and Broadcasting"
DTH ops want govt to take measures for cheaper STBs
NEW DELHI: Even as most DTH operators differ that a common Open Architecture based set-top box could ensure technical interoperability among different operators, they are unanimous that the government should take steps to reduce the cost of the STBs. Meanwhile, most operators have lauded the government’s efforts towards digitisation and expressed their willingness to support these measures. The comments came in response to a Consultation Paper issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on the possibility of technical interoperability and technical compatibility among different DTH »»»
Dish TV blames I&B for lack of portability
New Delhi: The issue of portability among direct-to-home (DTH) set-top boxes offered by the six private operators has taken a serious turn with country’s leading DTH operator Dish TV blaming the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) for derailing and delaying its implementation. Dish TV has accused the ministry of inaction in the last 18 months since it received the DTH standards recommended by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for MPEG-4 set-top boxes. “ issued by BIS in March 2009, after it was duly endorsed by all DTH operators, the I&B ministry has once again referred »»»
Panel suggests amendments to cable TV Act to curb piracy
The committee on piracy constituted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting today recommended an amendment to the Cable Television Networks Act. The panel suggested a licensing system for cable operators along the lines of the existing registration mechanism to combat piracy. The Committee said multiplex and theatre operators should be responsible in preventing camcorders being carried inside theatres during the screening of films. This, the Committee held, should be made a pre-requisite for grant of licence to theatre owners. Besides, content creators, rights holders, distributors, optical »»»
New rule to cut royalty cost for FM players
NEW DELHI: The Copyright Board on Wednesday approved a revenue sharing arrangement between radio broadcasters and music companies which will lead to significant savings in royalty costs for private FM radio players and provide a boost to the third phase of auction of radio stations. Under the new order of the board, radio broadcasters will now pay 2% of their “net advertising revenue” to “all music providers” as royalty. So far, FM radio stations pay a fixed rate which ranges fom Rs 300 to Rs 1,200 per needle hour (the actual time for which music is played). These royalty rates were applicable »»»
I&B ministry rejects clock auction for FM radio III
New Delhi: The auction of 806 FM radio stations across 217 new towns in the third phase (FM-III) of private FM radio will be held on closed tendering process instead of the online “clock auction” methodology adopted by the telecom ministry in awarding the 3G and broadband spectrum recently. The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) is said to have turned down the request from the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) which had recommended it to model the FM-III auctions on similar lines as done by the department of telecommunications in the 3G and broadband auctions recently. As reported »»»
Govt earns Rs 1.26 bn as licence fee from DTH operators
NEW DELHI: The Government earned Rs 1.26 billion as licence fee from the direct-to-home (DTH) operators during 2009-10, up from Rs 893.81 million a year ago, as their subscriber base and revenues have seen strong growth. DTH players are required to pay a licence fee equivalent to 10 per cent of their gross revenue. The licence fee collected in 2007-08 was Rs 345.63 million, but went up in the later years as the number of DTH players increased. The amount paid to the government is fixed from the gross revenues of DTH operators. These amounts are apart from the service tax for which the Department »»»
DD Direct Plus takes on pvt DTH players
New Delhi: Backed by financial support, upgraded technology and a comprehensive pan-India distribution strategy, DD Direct Plus is aiming to double its existing subscriber base to over 12 million within next 15-18 months. The country’s first and only free direct-to-home (DTH) platform aims to challenge the dominance of six private DTH firms that currently command 25 million subscribers. In the process, DD Direct Plus has overhauled itself to provide the viewers a competitive DTH service at no monthly cost, sources in the I&B ministry said. To meet this aim within a fixed time frame, the ministry »»»
